NEWS AND COMMENT.

Waipa Post, Volume XX, Issue 1177, 3 December 1921, Page 4

NEWS AND COMMENT.

HIDDEN FIRE PLUGS. THE position of many fire plugs in Te Awamutu is difficult to ascertain, and when the plugs are located they need some 1 excavation to enable the hose connections to be made. In many cases they are overlaid with bituco, and can be found * only by getting the intersections of imaginary lines drawn through pairs of landmarks, as the fisherman locates his lobster pots. The delay in coupling might .entail the complete loss of some building, and the blame in that case would not rest on the Fire Brigade but equally upon the Borough Council and upon those citizens whose premises the plugs adjoin. The latter’s time in keeping the |plugs clear would be well rewarded in the case of a fire on their properties. The worst cases of neglect in this matter are to be seen in Alexandra Street.

AN INGENIOUS BARREL. When oil is carried across the sea in ordinary ships it is usually stored in tins and wooden cases. The leakage from these cases is very considerable, and sometimes as much as a fifth of the oil will have disappeared at the end of the voyage. The attention of inventors has therefore been called to the problem of designing a. barrel which will not leak. Success has been achieved by a British inventor, who has designed a most ingenious barrel from, which leakage is impossible. The first model cost the inventor over £IOOO, but the barrel itself can be manufactured in quantities from £3 to £4 each. The barrel is arranged in sections, so that when empty it can be “ nested ” with a view to saving space. The adoption of the barrel is likely to become general in view of the high insurance rates now charged for oil conveyed in the usual way.

BRITISH ALL-METAL AIRSHIP. Enthusiasts for aviation, have never lost faith in the future of the airship for long-distance travel; nevertheless the weaknesses of existing types are onjy too apparent, and many people have felt • that some radical departure is required before a; real success is attained. It is possible that this desirable novelty is provided by the allmetal airship which was recently put under test in Great Britain. A large model was used to demonstrate the principles upon which the airship is designed. The ship has three fishlike hulls of different sizes, one being contained within the other, and all three meeting at a point at the bow, and also at the stern. Transverse sheets of metal are welded to these hulls in order to give additional strength. It lis expected thalt this peculiar construction will obviate the risk of the airship breaking its back in bad weather or when being rapidly turned. Apart from this special design of the hull the all-metal airship will be similar to those already constructed. Experiments are also being carried out in Great Britain with a new type of aeroplane which it is expected will be capable of rising directly from the ground. The greatest secrecy has been observed in connection with this new type of aeroplane, but there is great confidence that British engineering skill will solve the problem which has been in the minds of aircraft designers from the earliest days.